More Hunting Wasps 



but it is always possible to tell the number 

 of items provided. The heads, abdomens 

 and thoraxes, emptied of their fleshy sub- 

 stance and reduced to the tough outer skin, 

 are easily counted. If the larva has chewed 

 these overmuch, the wings at least are left; 

 these are sapless organs which the Philanthus 

 absolutely scorns. They are likewise spared 

 by moisture, putrefaction and time, so much 

 so that it is no more difficult to take an in- 

 ventory of a cell several years old than one 

 of a recent cell. The essential thing is not 

 to overlook any of these tiny relics while 

 placing them in the paper bag, amid the 

 thousand incidents of the excavation. The 

 rest of the work will be done in the study, 

 with the aid of the lens, taking the remains 

 heap by heap; the wings will be separated 

 from the surrounding refuse and counted in 

 sets of four. The result will give the 

 amount of the provisions. I do not recom- 

 mend this task to any one who is not en- 

 dowed with a good stock of patience, nor 

 above all to any one who does not start 

 with the conviction that results of great 

 interest are compatible with very piodest 

 means. 



My inspection covers a total of one hun- 

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